Tricia Levenseller strikes again! THE DARKNESS WITHIN US is a dazzling return to the world at the heart of THE SHADOWS BETWEEN US — one of my favorite reads of 2020. This companion novel reintroduces readers to old and new characters alike. Weaving a tale of romance, magic and mystery around a seemingly villainous protagonist and the one man standing in the way of the life she’s fought so long for, THE DARKNESS WITHIN US is another engaging, well-written win for Levenseller.

rating: 4.25/5
spice: 1.5/5 (fade to black but has lead up)

i read The Shadows Between Us a few years ago and although I don’t remember a whole lot about it, I do know I loooved it, and was so excited to hear there was a follow up about her sister Chrystantha.

i was expecting to dislike the FMC but actually really liked her character. Chrysantha was fierce, calculated, and very relatable.

Chrysantha and Eryx were a true enemies to lovers, the build up and tension was absolutely exquisite! I devoured this book in a single day, I couldn’t put it down.

I do wish that there were more of the fantasy elements, more shadow use! Other than that this was such a great read!

*thank you netgalley for the arc

I loved being back in a Tricia Levenseller novel! The world-building is top tier, and the characters were easy to connect to. I found this entire book to be very compelling and engaging. I finished it in a day and look forward to adding it to my classroom library.

I loved this book
Especially since it can be a stand alone if you have not read the first book. If you had read it however then you know how vapid this sister was made out to be. So I loved watching the truth unfold and realize how cunning she really is.
This was the perfect romance and much like the first book it is going to grace my shelves in a print copy

“Exactly. Together, we could burn the world down if we wanted to.”

Darkness Within Us picks up where Shadows Between Us left off, only now from Alessandra’s sister, Chrysantha’s perspective.

Chrysantha is about to have everything she’s ever wanted, money to do with as she pleases and freedom from marriage. Until an imposter arrives at her manor, claiming to be the heir of her dying husband, trying to take everything Chrysantha has worked for. Chrysantha works to prove Eryx is not the heir he claims to be, and if all else fails, she’s not opposed to resorting to murder…again.

This was such a great companion novel to The Shadows Between Us and really ties the sisters together and makes the series feel more complete.

I really enjoyed learning more about Chrysantha’s character and motivations. Since she has pretended to be a simpleton for so long it created lots of opportunity for scheming.

It was fun to see what characters from the first book are up to and expand more on the world.

I absolutely adore Levensellers descriptive writing style when crafting scenery. Like in the first book the outfits being written with such care, now it’s of the old manor being remodeled. It really makes the setting easy to visualize with more detail.

I felt like the stakes weren’t very high for Chrysantha so I wasn’t as invested as I could have been if money wasn’t the main thing on the line. There was also a strong hate for men in this book and it seemed like an easy scapegoat for Chrysantha to pin all of her problems on. But overall I still enjoyed this book.

The Shadows Between Us can be read as a Standalone novel but if you enjoyed it- I highly recommend also reading The Darkness Within Us.

Perfect for fans of The Princess Diaries 2 and Beauty and the Beast.

Thank you NetGalley and Feiwel and Friends for this ARC!

4 Stars

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. Unfortunately this book was just not for me. From the start, there are a lot of things that are told and not shown. I think something I've recently noticed that really bothers me is when things are dropped in "conveniently" Or when things are pointed out a million times. For example of told not shown and pointing things out 1029932x times: the main character, Chrysantha, talks a lot about how she is deceiving everyone around her into thinking shes dumb. So during one conversation, another character is pretty much like "oopsies am I talking too fast for you?" and then her inner monologue is like "oh right. im deceiving everyone into thinking im dumb but im NOT." And for convenience: She's been in mourning since her husband dies, so in this same conversation she says something and the woman in the shop goes "oh haven't you heard?" It felt like there was no buildup to the information and it was just dropped in. Unfortunately I thought the first book was much better.

This book reawakened my love of reading. If you're a fan of enemies to lovers and tension between the love interests this is the book for you. Honestly I wasn't a big fan of the start and didn't have high hopes after reading the first few chapters. It seemed like a fantasy of girl gets everything she wants and does whatever she wants. Then entered the fake duke and I was hooked. This book had me staying up until 3am, not even setting it down to go pee once I'd hit about the halfway mark. If you enjoyed The Shadows Between Us than you will love this book.

As someone who adored The Shadows Between Us, I was FERAL to read The Darkness Within Us.

After the events of book one, we see Chrysantha married to very handsy, very old duke. When he unexpectedly dies, Chrysantha finds that she is what she always strived to be: young, beautiful, rich, and FREE. But when a young man posing as her late husband’s grandson shows up, her future is put in jeopardy. Chrysantha puts everything on the line to discover who this Eryx Demos truly is, no matter the cost.

This book was phenomenal. While flawed and a little spoiled, Chrysantha was an incredibly fun and interesting character to read. She was unapologetic about who she was and what she wanted. The pacing in the book was great and the story never had me bored. Eryx was intriguing and mysterious, and was truly the perfect balance to Chrysantha.

I had so much fun reading this book and am so thankful to NetGalley for the opportunity to read it!

I’m so excited that Shadows Between Us became a duology! I absolutely loved the first one and also really enjoyed this one as well. The women are all badass and more of anti hero which makes the pov feel very unique. I can’t wait to own a physical copy of this one.

You know the books that are a really good time? This was a really good time. I loved being back in the world that was introduced in The Shadows Between Us, and I LOVED getting to know these characters within that space. I would never want to be a third sister to these two sharp tongued ladies, but reading about them - especially their misconceptions/misperceptions of one another was a real treat. Nobody writes love interests like Levenseller, well worth the wait.

I needed to get out of a slump so I chose this book because I LOVED The Shadows Between Us!

Chrysantha was a clever, dark manipulator and the best morally gray MC. The romance was EVERYTHING (closed door for the YA crowd) and so rewarding.

A perfect companion book and a stellar fantasy. Read this one!!!!

I don’t have words…. This book is the cutest book I have read in some time. It has the tropes I want the story I want to follow. Give me bridgerton with men with fae like abilities. Eryx Demos is the new book boyfriend for me!!!

I can’t wait to get a physical copy of this book!!
Thank you again for letting me experience this book.

This book was so enchanting and intricately written. I loved the cast of characters and the way we were introduced to them throughout the story. I do feel like some of the world building could have been flushed out just a tad more, but overall this was a really fun piece of work to delve into. I definitely recommend reading The Shadows Between Us before delving into this book.

Ahhhhh! It was so good this is the story I didn't know I needed. 100% will be reccomending to Everyone I know! I loved the story, the world building and meeting the different characters. I felt completely immersed in the story and couldn't stop reading it.

I was OBSESSED with The Shadows Between Us, and when I saw that there was another novel coming out, I was thrilled to jump back into the world. This book was a good solid read, and while I really liked it as a whole. The “woe is me, I’m a female you have no idea how hard it is being a woman.” bit was so heavy handed that I was rolling my eyes for a majority of it. But the world is so fun and the twists were interesting. The ending did end up feeling rushed, and the fantasy element didn’t seem to quite fit the world… but was shocking.
All of that aside, Crysantha was a fun character to read about and I enjoyed hearing her side of the story after having read The Shadows Between Us. Eryx was such a captivating character that he even left me feeling frustrated, like Crysantha. The is no doubt that he was a good match for Crysantha and that they complimented each other well. Which in turn did make for a fun romance to read. The inclusion of Alessandra and Kallias was a nice touch, and I was so glad to see part of their married life. Overall, this was a decent addition to the world, I just wish the ending and the fantasy elements were a little more hashed out...
Thank you to Edelweiss+ for the digital ARC.
3.5/5 stars